Trip to the ER

In his picture I look happy, but it wasn't such a happy day. I woke up Thursday night with 10/10 pain in my back and lower abdomen. After about 10 minutes of trying and hoping the pain would go away on it's own I woke up Eric. I was completely convinced I was going to have the babies at home in my bed I hurt so bad. 

Eric convinced me to get in a hot shower. He also gave me a Priesthood bless, got me some water, and rubbed my back until I was finally able to go to sleep around 4am. 

He also got all of the kids up and ready to go to school. I didn't hear a thing until I woke up at 8:30. ( Just so you know what a great husband he is he gets the girls ready every morning.)

I called the OB and she thought I might have a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) which I agreed with, but in Brazil you can't just to to the doctors office for a urinalysis. I think because medical equipment is so expensive here that it is uncommon for them to have a full lab at their offices. Plus she is in an office by herself. 

I have a love/hate relationship with South Shore at home, but it would have been a lot easier just to go to the doctors office and have all the test run. Instead I had to go to the ER. 

It seems pretty common here for people to go to the ER. I think it's the way most people access health care. 

I picked up Carli at school and then got Eric on the way. 

When we showed up at the hospital they were very helpful and someone showed us to the ER and then they got a translator for us. There are lots of employees dressed in grey suits with "Do you have a Question ?"embroidered on their jackets to help. Just like in the US hospitals are big and hard to navigate, but at least in Brazil they have people to show you around. 

They had three tracts when I check in---

Super Track- wait time 1 hours
Fast Track- wait time 2-3 hours
Emergency - immediate attention
I was given a purple wrist band which was Super Track. 

I was seen by one of the OBs on call in the ER and after the exam I was convinced I had a kidney infection. When he palpated my left kidney I almost jumped off the table it hurt so much in pain. 

I think I made him nervous having to speak English because he took my urine sample without any identification on it to the nurses and just like at home they got all upset. Two nurses came in, one who spoke English, and told me I was going to have to do it again. They also drew blood and made sure everything was labeled properly. 

Then they told me to go back to the waiting area and wait 1 1/2 to 2 hours for the results. 

I guess unless you are really dying you don't get to stay in a hospital bed or room in the ER in Brazil. 

Because we had Carli they found us a nicer area to wait in. 

I have to say I am super impressed by this hospital. I know it's one of the nicest in Brazil, but the care I received was excellent.
I also have way more empathy for patients in the future who don't speak English. I remember when I worked in California it was also was difficult to find a translator for our patients and made my job harder, but now I know how important that is for patients. Luckily I am comfortable in a hospital setting, but if I was also scared and didn't understand what was going on it would be even worse!!! 

By then Eric had to leave to go get the girls from school. My urine showed high levels of ammonia phosphate that can causes kidney stones so then I was sent for an Kidney Ultrasound. The radiologist do the scans themselves. He was super nice and spoke great English. When I asked him if he had ever been to the US he said, "Yes." Then when I asked him if he went to Florida he was super funny. Almost all Brazilians who go to the US go to Miami to buy things, or to Disney World with their kids. He told me his sister lived in Florida, but he had been to many places in the US. His list was pretty impressive. 

My left kidney was super sensitive, but he didn't see any more stones. 

After coming home and looking at all of the results of the blood work and urinalysis. I think what happened is I had a small kidney stone that caused renal colic. When I looked that up that is exactly how I felt in the middle of the night.
Luckily it was only one episode and I didn't have any more stones because it really was the worse pain I have every experienced.

They sent me home with instructions to rest, drink  2 liters of water a day and some pain medication if I needed and told me to follow up with my doctor. 

I took a cab home which might have been the best decision because it was rush hour by then and the cab sure knew how to beat the traffic. I was only scared for my life a few times:)
All in the total time was 5 hours. Luckily I have felt better since then. I have been trying to be good about drinking water because for some reason since I have been pregnant I have an aversion to water. But the pain I felt has made me not want to have that happen again and more motivated to drink water. 

Looks pretty much like at home,